Harry and Ginny: The Only Hope For Me Is You
by AdrienneXX
Summary: Re-done! Title credit to the My Chemical Romance song. Harry and Ginny recovering from the war. Post-DH, Pre-Epiloge. Molly, not Fred, dies at the battle, and now Ginny and Harry must begin their recovery.


**Hello again everyone! Here is the first chapter of the new, re-done The Only Hope For Me Is You! Thank you to everyone who has been following the story. I've had some requests for changes, so I will be trying to incorporate them as well! Please let me know what you think! XOXO, Adrienne**

* * *

Ginny stood silently next to her father and brothers, shocked to her core. She couldn't understand, couldn't comprehend her mother's white, lifeless body lying on the long table next to Remus and Tonks'. Her mother, her strong, beautiful, loving mother - dead. She'd never hear Mum's voice calling them all to dinner…handing out chores…scolding the twins…whispering soothing words like only a mother could…Ginny felt herself choke out a sob, and raised her hands to her mouth, tears flooding. She fell to her knees, resting her forehead on the edge of the table, feeling sobs tear through her. She felt someone – one of the boys, probably – lean down next to her, wrapping her up in a hug, but the only person she wanted a hug from right now would never again give her one.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed there. Eventually, her sobs quieted to a silent waterfall of tears and deep, shuddering breaths, and then slowly stopped. She had never been one to cry for long. When the sun rose, bathing the hall in an unfittingly rosy glow, she sniffed, trying to compose herself. She stood up, her legs shaking from lack of blood as she did so. She felt her head spin at the sudden movement, but ignored it. She was strong. Mum would want her to be strong. She looked around for the first time, wiping the last few tears away.

Dad was sitting in a chair by Mum's head, staring at her in shock. He seemed void, emotionless; she felt her heart drop again. She couldn't imagine what this was doing to him. Bill was standing nearby, stoking Fleur's hair softly, both watching her closely, as if expecting her to break down again. The rest of the boys were gone. She swallowed down her grief – the war may have been over, but the recovery was just beginning, and Merlin knew it would be a battle in and of itself.

"Where is everyone?" She said, her voice hoarse and cracking.

"Outside," Bill said quietly after a moment. "People are arriving, to claim the..."

"Bodies," She said, her voice hard and cold. She stared over the room, at all of the fallen, those who had given their lives for the Light. It seemed so cruel, that they had made it so far, but didn't live to see the end. And more were still dying, too, from injuries. She silently thanked Merlin that her mother had felt no pain. There were 72 dead so far, many of them her friends and members of her DA. It was a terrible end to a terrible war.

Someone had draped the bodies in thick, black sheets. Ginny tried to take a deep breath, and she noticed an older woman a few years older than her mother had been sobbing at Tonks' side. Recognizing her, gasping at her similarity to Bellatrix Ginny felt her heart break yet again for the woman in front of her. Acting on impulse, she stepped towards the small brown-haired woman. She remembered the Potter Watch report saying that her husband had been killed by Death Eaters several months ago.

"Mrs. Tonks," She said quietly, but Andromeda didn't reply. Ginny hadn't really expected her to, and she kneeled next to the sobbing woman, wrapping an arm around her. She tried to think of something to say, but what could you say to a woman who had lost so much? So she just sat there, hoping her presence would be a small comfort, determined not to let this woman be alone. Yes, she'd have Teddy, but Ginny promised herself she wouldn't let this poor woman's family drop to only one other person. After several hours of sitting silently next to Andromeda, the older woman finally looked at Ginny, tears pouring down her face.

"I just don't know how I can carry on without her," Andromeda said, her voice shaky. Ginny felt her eyes fill with tears to at the thought of the woman she had considered her older sister.

"None of us do," She whispered. "But they would have wanted us to find a way." Andromeda nodded, smiling weakly.

* * *

Ginny walked down to the grounds with her family, staring at the trampled, red-stained grass. Charlie had an arm wrapped around her. Bill was supporting Dad, who was staring ahead unseeingly, while the twins followed behind, silent for the first time in their lives. Ron, as usual, was with Harry and Hermione, the three of them staring around at the destruction, the latter two looking uncomfortable, as if they were intruding. If it had been some other situation, Ginny would have rolled her eyes; you'd think they'd have learnt by now that they were part of the family.

Kingsley had arranged a portkey for them, and as the ten of them held on to it, it was painfully aware to each that their matriarch was being left behind. When their feet hit the dirt lane leading to the Burrow with a thump, they walked wordlessly into the wards, staring at the house that they hadn't seen in almost a month. The "golden trio" hadn't seen it in almost a year; Bill'd had to show them the piece of paper Dad'd written the address on just so they could get through the fidelius charm.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, Ginny decided she'd have to give the place a good scrub down. It was what Mum would have wanted, after all. She wanted to scrub away the pain of the war…but part of her was worried it would scrub away the memories of Mum. It was painful, standing in Mum's kitchen, surrounded by memories of her, but Ginny pushed through it, focusing on the job at hand. She cast a scourgify charm over the room quickly, getting rid of the visible dust. It would have to do for now; at least she knew it was clean.

Dad had already disappeared upstairs, and nobody was sure of what to do. Looking around, Ginny decided that someone had to take charge. She was, after all, officially the Weasley matriarch now; Fleur could have stepped up to the position, but she wanted to be the one to follow in her Mum's footsteps - though she no longer had any quarrels with her sister-in-law, it didn't feel right to give Fleur that position.

"Ron, go get vegetables from the garden. You two can help," She added to the twins, deciding that the three of them looked most uncomfortable. Everyone stared at her, and she got annoyed and uncomfortable. Yes, she was the youngest there, but someone had to step up. She was sick of feeling helpless, of feeling like she had no control. "Now!" She snapped, and they exchanged glances, but did so without comment. "Someone needs to go strip all the beds and bring all the bedding down," She said, thinking out loud.

"I can do that," Hermione said, seeming anxious to help. Ginny smiled at her friend thankfully, and nodded.

"Thanks," she said, thinking of what else needed to be done. "All the windows need opening, and someone needs to make sure no doxies or boggarts or anything have moved in…and I guess we should get the ghoul out of Ron's room, too."

"I'll deal with the ghoul," Harry muttered, and Ginny looked at him for the first time since the battle, for the first time in almost a year. Her heart did the same flip-flops it always did when he was around, but it also clenched as the hurt and anger of their break-up and his leaving came to the surface. He looked so much different, but so painfully the same; his messy hair was even messier than usual, cut jaggedly and overgrown, and his extraordinary eyes showed wisdom and pain that made her heart ache. She desperately wanted to give him a hug and tell him it would all be alright, but she didn't know where things stood between them. She had missed him horribly, but she was still furious, and he hadn't forgiven him for the pain he caused her, or his apparent lack of faith in her skills.

"I'll check the rest of the house," Charlie offered, and the two men went off upstairs.

"I'm going to check on Dad," Bill told her when they, Fleur, and Percy were the only ones left.

"And I will give zee bathrooms a queek clean," Fleur said. Ginny smiled at them gratefully, before turning to Percy, who looked vaguely uncomfortable but completely and utterly guilty and heartbroken. Ginny realized suddenly how horrible it must feel to have Mum die after you'd been so horrible to her for almost three years. She didn't know what to do to help, though. She hadn't forgiven him, but she couldn't bring herself to be mean.

"Could you help me, Perce?" She asked, and he nodded wordlessly, and got up to help her make dinner.

* * *

Ginny was standing outside, staring up at the moon, when she heard the door behind her open. She spun around, heart in her throat, wand out, when Harry stepped out. She let out a deep breath. "Sorry," She muttered, and he waved the apology off, coming to stand next to her. She turned her attention back to the sky, trying to ignore her racing heart.

"Ginny," Harry whispered, and before Ginny could fully comprehend what she was doing, she pulled Harry down to her and kissed him. He seemed shocked, but after a moment he kissed her back, wrapping her up in his arms.

"I'm still mad at you," she whispered breathlessly, pulling away from him, and staring into his emerald eyes. "For leaving, and for being dead, and…and for everything."

"And I'm still mad at you for being at the battle and for not staying safe," He said in a low voice, staring straight back at her.

"Fine," She whispered, feeling her brain getting muddled under his gaze.

"Fine," He whispered back, before pulling her back to him and kissing her soundly.


End file.
